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Thursday, October 9, 2014

Why Didn't I read Leviathan Sooner?

I'm a big fan of Scott Westerfeld's work. I adored both the Uglies and Midnighters series, so his Leviathan series was always in the back of my mind. I just was taking my sweet time to actually pick it up. It was awesome! I have no idea why it took me so long to finally read it. I borrowed this book from the library, but I kind of want a copy for myself, because in addition to this awesome map, there are illustrations throughout the novel. It's so freaking cool!

Why didn't I read this book sooner? I really don't have any answer for that, maybe because my TBR pile is so massively big that it just got stuck at the bottom on the list.

The book follows the alternate perspectives of Deryn Sharp, a young woman who disguises herself as a boy to work on the British airship The Leviathan, and Aleksander Ferdinand the "heir" to the Austria-Hungry Empire who is running for his life from the people who killed his parents. (If you know your World History this should not be a spoiler for you). I immediately connected to Deryn, probably because she is a crass foul-mouthed tomboy and is everything I want to be. She's freaking awesome, and you'll see why when you read the novel.

As for Alek, I wasn't too keen on him at first. I thought he was a spoiled brat, no wonder due to his upbringing, but as his journey continues you see that he really is a noble person with a big heart. His warm heart and desire to help others is what ultimately gets him in some trouble. By the end of the novel I had warmed up to him, and I'm excited to see where his journey takes him next.

This book is cool for a lot of other reasons, that I just need to list them off:

Alternate World War 1 timeline!

The Central Powers are called "The Clankers." They build huge military steam-powered machines that walk across the earth, some look like spiders

The Allied Powers are called the "Darwinists." They took Darwin's studies and ran with them. They can take the lifeform (DNA) of any creature to modify and fabricate new "beasties."

The Leviathan is a Darwinist fabrication

I don't want to give everything away, because this book is freaking awesome! I'm so mad at myself for not reading it sooner. If you want an action-packed adventure story with a side of bizzaro science, this book is for you! I'm giving it a 8 out of 10.

Did you read this book? What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment below.